…
Atlas was paralyzed with fear, for he knew that his mother wouldn’t be pleased with how he had performed...and that he had let his brother run away.
-S-she...definitely knows that I...no, I didn’t let him get away! He was definitely injured and he could use magic, I’m sure of it! It wasn’t a fair fight, but he only managed to get away in the confusion!
Atlas: “M-mother...I didn’t….”
Agatha suddenly put a finger over his mouth, shutting him up instantly. She looked directly into his quivering eyes, noting every trace of his fears before placing a hand on his shoulder. Atlas’s gaze steadied, and she removed the finger from his mouth.
Agatha: “Jacob tells me that your...hunt did not go successfully?”
Atlas lowered his head in shame, not bearing to look at what face she might wear when he told her of his failures.
Atlas: “M-mother...it is...true...I failed to end his life when I encountered him the first time...I ended up with...several injuries…”
He began sniffle with tears welling up in his eyes. His despair was visible despite him having his face pointed downward, but anger was also apparent in the way that he gnashed his teeth.
Agatha: “Keep calm and tell me precisely what happened, my child.”
Atlas reached his arm up to wipe his eyes and then raised his head up, to continue speaking while facing her.
Atlas: “I used the orb as the manuscripts...and you, of course, instructed...He was restrained and my attack should have been able to...finish him, but…”
Agatha: “It exploded, I know. Jacob told me something else though, he told me that you were losing control. He said that you had begun to overflow, is that true?”
He nodded his head solemnly.
-But that isn’t all of it...What should I tell her? Should I tell her the truth, that somehow that...trash...is stronger than me?!
He contemplated nervously, trying to determine what he should tell her that would preserve himself as the heir to the family and to not fall to the level his brother had despite his strength…
-If he’s that strong, why did he feel the need to attack Mother? If he’s that strong, why wouldn’t she try to make him into something more useful?! If I tell her the truth...what reason does she have to keep me alive?
Agatha: “Atlas, my child. Please, answer me…”
Atlas felt the chill of her voice permeate through him, leaving him no chance of lying to her. He wouldn’t be able to hide anything...so…
Atlas: “Yes...I started to lose control...the orb blew up...I felt pain...so much…”
He once again hung his head low, but this time he also began clenching one of his arms with his slightly-bloodied hand. Shuddering, he gave his mother a quick, painful, glance. She knelt down, and put both of her arms around him, pulling him into a hug.
Agatha: “I understand, you don’t need to relive the pain you felt at that moment. Just tell me, was that all there was to it?”
The cold feeling that Atlas had felt vanished, filling him with a sense of ease. He lifted his head up fully with eyes closed and gave a nod in her direction. Agatha genuinely looked sorry and her caring tone did not seem false.
They both remained in this position for what seemed like hours, until Agatha removed her arms and stood up from where she knelt. After a while of staring at her son, she walked out of the room.
…
-It seems that Jacob was telling the truth, but I wouldn’t have believed it unless Atlas said so. After all, he seemed to have acted sentimentally on certain matters, pertaining to...it.
Agatha: “I suppose that Atlas will need to plan his next attack for another day, but I am sincerely worried that he wouldn’t tell me about the overflow.”
Mana overflow, a condition in which one’s mana exceeds the quantity or quality that they can hold within their frame. In the world of Ilthea, it was a condition, which was most common in sorcerers who attempted to delve into the mysteries of magic and mana, while their bodies were frail and weak, most of whom invented odd artifacts and spells to keep themselves alive.
-I have been feeding him my mana ever since I discovered his Mageroot, but it seems that I will have to wait for him to adapt to the changes...or I may lose him…
She stood still for a while, seemingly contemplating how dangerous it would be for Atlas or simply counting the days from the supposed ‘revelation.’ After a moment of stillness, she continued to walk down the hall, back to her room to continue her prayer and research.
…
Fate: “Status, display.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HP: 78.0/153.6
MP: 25.41/30.80
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-Well, that’s nearly all of my HP recovered...or at least it would’ve been back when I still had 104 HP, but in any case, I think I’m ok to start moving around...probably?
Fate had now had at least 20 minutes, according to the regeneration rate of his mana gauge, to recover his MP and HP. He could feel his strength returning, bit by bit, even if it wasn’t completely back yet.
He pressed his arms and back against the wall and began to force himself up until he finally was able to stand up straight. He took several breaths of fresh air, savoring the sensations of the breeze from the broken window.
-Which reminds me, why did they just decide to leave me here if I already broke the window? It should be easy for me to just slip my arm right out, right?
Fate walked slowly towards the crate steps and took a good while to limp up to the shattered glass. He tried to look for any signs that it had been blocked, but there wasn’t a single sign of tampering with the damage.
He reached his hand towards the hole, only to be repelled by a barrier of some sort.
-The hell is this? It feels like...rubber?
Fate repeatedly attempted to puncture the transparent barrier, but his jabs were bounced away every single time. It seemed that someone had set this up while he was passed out, as a temporary fix for the damage he had done so he couldn’t escape.
Fate: “Did Mother do this?”
He didn’t know another mage, but he didn’t know exactly what type of magic his mother used so he couldn’t be sure.
-Then again, if it was her, the consequences of touching this thing would probably be a lot harsher. But who else would be coming in to do something like this?
He decided that he wouldn’t take so much time trying to comprehend who put this up, but the fact that it was there to block him irked him to no end. Regardless, it wasn’t like he could do much about something that he didn’t understand.
Fate: “Guess I’ll try seeing what I can do with my new 『Fire Magic』...minor!”
Fate channeled his mana into his fingertip like he had when he was threatening that maid, earlier. However, what came out was…
-Wait, would I have even been able to burn her face with minor fire magic?
*ping!*
A small mana orb released from his finger, it wasn’t a flame, however, it wasn’t the standard blue bubble, like it usually was. It was a dull red in coloration, but it didn’t seem to be any different from a normal orb other than its color?
-Does it not do anything…?
Fate: “Sh*t!”
Fate walked up to the drifting red bubble and attempted to angrily poke it out of existence, but right as he touched it…!
*Szzz!*
The bubble began to sizzle and the dull red color changed to bright red, before turning into a burst of smoke and burning liquid that slightly stung his finger!
『【Magic】has increased by 0.095!』
He stumbled over from the sudden shock and ended up falling on his back, right onto the floor. Fate gazed at his finger, which had a small burn on it. He scrambled to sit upright and tried looking on the floor, below where the bubble popped...There wasn’t a single trace left though.
-So instead of a flame on my finger, it’s some sort of bomb-bubble?! Seriously, that...kinda hurt...Still though, wasn’t I able to make a small flicker on my finger, earlier? How come I couldn’t make it come out?”
Fate: “Wait...status!”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HP: 78.0/153.6
MP: 26.52/30.99
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-Ughhhh, I have no idea how to check what my MP was beforehand! Guess I’ll just have to…
Fate held out his hand and packed mana into his finger, while imagining a flame, once more, and another red bubble emerged!
『【Magic】has increased by 0.095!』
Fate: “Status!”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HP: 78.0/153.6
MP: 24.52/31.18
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-So it’s 2 MP…‘a pop,’ eh?
Fate felt the urge to laugh from his terrible pun, as he hadn’t practiced any jokes or tried to recall his pleasant memories from the moment he had been reborn. Although he managed to appreciate the joke, he quickly shrugged off his giggles and focused on his insight.
Fate: “It takes 2 MP to make a bubble that small? It just slightly stings too, what use is that in a fight?! I should just stick with the explosive blue…!”
He had an idea! Fate quickly focused mana into two fingers, which made two small orbs appear, one red and one blue. He allowed more mana to flow from his body into the bubbles, making them swell slightly in size!
『【Magic】has increased by 0.215!』
The orbs grew big enough that they eventually crossed paths, at which point they burst into a small explosion and on the finger where the red bubble had been, a small flame was born! Fate was excited beyond belief, even for this small flame, but didn’t forget an important detail…
Fate: “Status!”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HP: 78.0/153.6
MP: 19.02/31.61
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-...Seriously, making a small flame takes 5 MP?! Earlier, I made one for threatening someone and that didn’t feel like it took much at all...How pumped up was I during that mad dash?
Without any mana to fuel it, the small flame flickered out of existence. It seemed like Fate would have more experimentation to do that day...
